DRAFTING:

The 2001 NFL draft will consist of seven rounds with a total of 246 picks. Each team is assigned one pick per round based on the reverse order of finish of the 2000 season. In addition, a total of 31 compensatory choices were awarded to 16 clubs. Two teams have two selections in the first round, Seattle (7th and 17th) and St. Louis (20th and 29th).

ON THE CLOCK:

Round 1 - 15 minutes will be allotted for each team's selection.
Round 2 - 10 minutes per selection.
Rounds 3 through 7 - 5 minutes per selection.

TELEVISION:

ESPN and ESPN2 will televise the draft in its entirety. This will be the 21st year of draft coverage by ESPN. Once again, ESPN will have a presence in Foxboro draft weekend and will interview head coach Bill Belichick via video conferencing following the team's first pick.

ONLINE:

For all the up to date information on draft day, check out the NFL's Draft Tracker site through links found at Patriots.com. The "Draft Tracker" will enable users to analyze the draft as it unfolds and sort selections by player, position, NFL or college team and other variables. Fans can also follow all the draft's events at either www.nfl.com or www.espn.go.com.

DRAFT FORMAT

The draft will consist of seven rounds with a total of 246 picks. Each team was assigned one pick per round based on the reverse order of finish in the 2000 season.

COMPENSATORY PICKS

A total of 31 compensatory choices in the 2001 NFL draft have been awarded to 16 teams.

Under terms of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in a year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.

The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The 31 compensatory choices will supplement the 215 choices in the regular seven rounds of the 2001 NFL draft. This year, the compensatory picks will be positioned within the third through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost.

Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula.

One club this year (Kansas City) will receive a compensatory pick even though it did not suffer a net loss of compensatory free agents. Under the formula, the compensatory free agents Kansas City lost were ranked higher than the ones they signed by a specified point differential.

The following 2001 draft picks have been approved by the NFL Management Council Executive Committee:

PASSING

If a team does not make a pick during its allotted time period, the team "passes" and the pick will defer to the next team. The initial team may then at any point make a pick, regardless of whether or not the subsequent team (or teams) have made a pick.

DRAFT ORDER

Draft-order ties are resolved by the cumulative record of each team's opponents. The team with the weaker opponents receives drafting priority.

Within a tied segment, non-playoff clubs are given priority over playoff clubs. Priority of playoff clubs within a tied segment is based on their advancement in the playoffs, but they will not drop out of their tied segment unless they participate in the Super Bowl.

Teams involved in two-team ties will alternate positions from round to round. In ties that involve three or more teams, the team at the bottom of the tied segment in a given round will move to the bottom of the segment for the next round, while all other teams in the segment move up one position. This rotation continues throughout the draft.

TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FIRST ROUND PICKS

The Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams have two picks in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Listed below are the transactions involving the two picks.

ON THE CLOCK

In 1993, the NFL draft was reduced from 12 rounds to just eight rounds. The following year, the NFL adopted the current system using seven rounds and added compensatory picks. With the addition of the Cleveland Browns to the NFL prior to last season's draft, there were 14 more selections than the year before (253 in 1999, compared to 241 in 1998). As a result, it was the longest draft since 1996, lasting 16:52 and covering 254 selections, the most since the draft moved to seven rounds. Recent times of the first round and entire draft are listed below:

IN RECORD TIME

The following times represent draft-day records: